English Lawyers between Market and State

The Politics of Professionalism

Richard L. Abel

Description

The English legal profession, uncharacteristically, was often in the headlines during the 1990s. Reforms initiated by a Conservative Lord Chancellor and extended by his Labour successor transformed traditions, over the vigorous objections of the judiciary, Bar, and Law Society. Rapid market developments enriched some barristers and solicitors while squeezing others. The two professional associations confronted crises in self-regulation and governance. This book mines that tumultuous period for insights into the prospects of professionalism in the 21st century.

English Lawyers between Market and State

The Politics of Professionalism

Richard L. Abel

Reviews and Awards

"Richard Abel's most recent project has turned history like a craftsman to provide us with a punctilious chronicle of a transformative period in English legal politics. Those who take up this book will be rewarded with what might be the best account of how one country's legal profession-understood as a collectivity but the creature of individual and sub-group action-attempts to maintain its traditional position of strength in the face of external assaults and internal discord."--The Law and Politics Book Review